hartwell



Jan. 31, 1956 D. H. HARTWELL 2,732,595

LOUVER CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 3, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet l A T TOR NE Y8- By; mm

Jan. 31, 1956 Tw L 2,732,595

LOUVER CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 3, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 III DAN/EL H. HARTWELL,

IN VEN TOR. Huebner, Beeh/er, Worrel 8 Herzig, ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent Ofifice LOUVER CONSTRUCTION Daniel H. Hartwell, Whittier, Calif. Application December 3, 1954, Serial No. 472,815 1 Claim. (Cl. 20-62) The present invention relates to hardware for a louver construction and particularly to a window louver construction.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide hardware for a louver construction eificiently designed for a minimum exposure of moving parts.

Another object 'is to provide a neat, compact, weather sealed louver construction.

An additional object is to provide a louver construction wherein the parts are designed to be economically fabricated and assembled for mass production.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

Broadly stated, my invention comprises an assembly of the following elements or parts. A mechanism supporting strip made of suitable shape, such as a channel, is adapted to fit against the wall of an opening, such as a vertical wall of a window opening, and is provided with a series of spaced louver slat supports. These slat supports are rotatably mounted in the supporting strip and have actuating cams attached thereto for rotating the slat supports and the slats in the supports. A cam actuating bar is slidably mounted adjacent the actuating cams and is provided with projections arranged on the bar to make sliding contact with the cams when the bar is reversibly moved relative to the cams. The cam actuating bar is actuated by means connected thereto.

A more detailed description of a specific embodiment of the invention is given with reference to the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is an interior elevational view in perspective showing a lintel louver section and a sill louver section mounted in a window frame, the former section being in open position and the latter being closed;

Figure 2 is a view taken on line 22 of Figure 1 showing a lintel louver section having four slat supports in open position mounted on a support channel together with an actuating lever; the top support is shown empty to illustrate its structural features;

. Figure 3 is a view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1 showing a portion of a sill louver section in closed position to illustrate the tight overlapping of the closed louver slats and the folding-in of the actuating lever;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2 showing the shape of the support channel mounted on a window frame partially shown in phantom;

Figure 5 is an inside elevational view of the lintel louver section of Figure 2, showing the actuating lever connected to an actuating cam, actuating cams connected to the slat supports and a cam actuating bar partially broken away;

Figure 6 is a view similar to that of Figure 5 but showing the mechanism in closed position;

Figure 7 is a view taken on line 7-7 of Figure 3, showing an exterior view of the closed louver slat supports and louver slats;

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Figure 5, showing a portion of a louver slat mounted in a slat support with the aid of a gasket;

2,732,595 Patented Jan. 31, 1956 Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 99 of Figure 5 showing the cam actuating bar slidably riveted inside the support channel;

Figure 10 is a similar cross-sectional view taken on line 10-16 of Figure 5, showing the connection of the actuating lever to an actuating cam;

Figure 11 is a partial sectional view taken on line 11-11 of Figure 6,.showing the connection between a louver slat support and an actuating cam;

Figure 12 is an inside elevational view of a support channel of a complementary louver assembly showing weather seal bosses and slat support mounting holes;

Figure 13 is a perspective view showing the cam actuating bar provided with guide slots and cam sliding contact rivets; and

Figure 14 is an exploded view showing the parts of a slat support assembly.

Mechanism support channel 10 may be square-cut at its ends as shown in Figures 2, 5, and 6 in the case of lintel channels, or its lower end may be cut at an angle to conform with the sill in the case of sill channels. The channel 10 is provided with two screw holes 11, four holes 12 (Figure 14) to accommodate circular washers 15, rivets 13 connecting louver slat supports 14 with actuating cams 16, and a hole 17 (Figure 12) to accommodate rivets 18 (Figure 10) connecting actuating lever 19 with actuating cam 21. Channel 10 also is provided with rivet holes 22 and weather sealing bosses 23, as best shown in Figure 12. The finished channel 10 with holes and weather seals can be precision die stamped for uniform quality from sheet aluminum or other metal.

Louver slat supports 14 can be precision die stamped from sheet metal, slotted and shaped to receive a rubber or synthetic rubber gasket 24 (Figure 8) and a louver slat 26. Washers 27 are positioned between the outside of channel 10 and the inside of slat supports 14. The washers 27 are provided with projections 28 (Figure 14) adapted to grip slat supports against weather seals 23 in the closed position. Circular washers 29 are positioned between the inside of channel 10 and the inside of actuating cam 16. Each slat support 14 (Figure 14) is tightly riveted to an actuating cam 16 through a gripping washer 27, a circular washer 15 in the plane of channel 10 and a washer 29 to form a smoothly rotatable unit mounted in channel 10 as best shown in Figure 11.

Similarly, actuating lever 19, which also can be precision die stamped from sheet metal, is tightly riveted (Figure 10) to actuating cam 21 through a circular Washer 15 in the plane of channel 10, and a second circular washer 29, to form a tight, rotatable unit mounted in channel 10, as best shown in Figure 10.

Actuating bar 31, best shown in Figure 13, can be cut to size from strip metal stock, provided with guide slots 32 and with offset portions 33. be stamped into the bar. The bar 31 is slidably mounted on channel 10 by guide rivets 34 (Figure 9) fixed in rivet holes 22 and passing through slots 32. Before mounting, the bar 31 is provided with pins or rivets 35 positioned precisely on the bar to make sliding contact with the edges of actuating cams 16 and actuating cam 21, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. A locking pin or rivet 36 also is ac curately positioned on the bar to lock the louver mechanism tightly in closed position.

The assembled louver sections, both lintel and sill sections, are mounted to a vertical side 37 of a window frame by screws 38 (Figure 2) through holes 11, as shown in Figure 1. On the opposite vertical side 39 of the window frame are mounted complementary louver assemblies (Figure 12) consisting of a support channel 10 provided with two screw holes 11, four slat support mounting holes 12, and weather sealing bosses 23, as described above. Rotatably mounted on the channel 10 The offset portions canof the complementary louver assembly are louver slat supports 14, which are riveted to circular washers 29 instead of actuating earns 16, through gripping washers 27 and circular washers 15 in the plane of channel 10. The complementary louver assemblies are not provided with actuating cams 16, and actuating bar 31, or an actuating lever 19.

The louver assemblies can be put into the open position shown in Figure 5, the closed position shown in Figure 6, or in intermediate positions by manually turning actuating lever 19. Turning lever 19 actuates cam 21, which in turn .actuates bar 31 through a pin 41 slidably disposed in curved slot 42 in the cam 21. The slot 42 is curved in such a manner that rotation of cam 21 through a quarter turn from the open position to the closed position, or in reverse, causes pin 41, and as a consequence bar 31, to slide upward, or downward, a distance in channel 10 corresponding to the lengths of guide slots 32. During the upward, or downward, sliding movement of bar 31, pins 35 engage the lower, or upper, edges, respectively, of actuating cams 16. These edges of the cams are contoured so that the sliding movement of the bar 31 is converted into rotary movement of the cams 16 through pins 35. The rotary movement of earns 16 is, in turn, imparted to the louver slat supports 14 to open or close the slats 26, which are tightly mounted in the slat supports 14 with the aid of rubber gaskets 24 (Figure 8).

In the closed position (shown in Figure 6) the pins 35, near the end of their cycle of sliding contact with the lower edges of cams 16, are urged into notches 43 (Figure 14) on cams 16. Cam 21 is simultaneously wedged at. a notch 44 in its upper edge tightly against locking pin 36 during its final stage of movement, caused by the folding of actuating lever 19 tightly against the outside surface of channel 10. Thus, each slat 26 is locked shut by the locking action of pins 35 in notches 43 of earns 16, and of pin 36 in notch 44 of cam 21. Also, the louver slat supports 14 are pressed tightly against weather seals 23, while the upper, outer edge of each slat 14 (Figure 3) is pressed tightly against the lower, inner edge of the next lower slat 14 to form a weather-tight and substantially airtight louver construction.

The slat supports 14, as shown most clearly in Figures 8 and 14, comprise preferably balanced elements defining slat-holding channels therealong. Such channels are bounded by terminal or body walls 52.

The side walls 52 are preferably integral or continuous with the body walls 50 along fold-lines 53. Said side walls 52 extend beyond the arms 51 defining a space 54 at either end of the supports 14 where, when the slats are in closed position, they overlap and abut one another, as shown, for example, in Figure 3.

Ears 55 formed from the walls 52 confine the slats against edgewise movement in at least one direction, but if desired, in both directions, as evidenced by one of said ears being shown in dotted outline.

Each side wall 52 carries an extension 55 beyond the arms 51, which, as shown most clearly in Figure 7, overlaps and closes against a corresponding edge 57 of the "eathcrstripping boss .23 in the closed position of the slats, thereby cooperating with the projection 28 on the washers 27 to provide a continuous, effective weather-seal between the slat holders and the vertical support channels 10 by virtue of the offset Weatherstripping bosses 23. Said inner edges 57 (Fig. 2) of the bosses 23 are, for such purpose, in alignment with respect to the respective bosses.

The arms 51 are undercut, as seen in Figure 7, for example, so as to slidably engage the bosses 23 in the closed position of the slats to further effectuate the desired seal in said position. To some extent such slidable engagement serves to align and support the slat holders in firm air-tight engagement against said bosses in the side channels 10. An effective yet simple and efficient weatherproofing construction thereby results.

Longitudinally extending reinforcing beads 59 along the arms S2, and also, if desired, along the entire side wall of the slat-holders on each side, stiffen and strengthen the same.

Although a detailed description of a specific embodiment of the invention has been given above, it is understood that many modifications thereof are possible. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except as necessitated by the prior art and the spirit of the appended claim.

I claim:

in louver hardware, a mechanism supporting strip adapted to fit against the wall of an opening, said supporting strip defining a substantially U-shaped channel, louver slat supports rotatably mounted in spaced relation along the supporting strip, elongate substantially vertically disposed offset bosses centered about said louver slat supports, said offset bosses being formed with inner offset edges in alignment, said slat supports having opposed side walls formed with a boss-engaging extension on each side for engaging an inner edge of a corresponding offset boss portion, the opposite side wall of each said such slat support having a flange portion adapted to make a slidable fit against the top of a respective corresponding boss portion to provide a weather seal, actuating cams attached to the supports for rotating the same upon actuation of the cams, a cam actuating bar slidably mounted adjacent the cams, cam actuating projections fixed in spaced relation to the bar and in sliding contact with the cams, bar actuating means for sliding the bar along the supporting strip, and washers mounted axially of corresponding slats and having radially extending fingers extending between said offset bosses and adapted to engage adjacent end portions of said bosses to seal thereagainst in the closed position of the slats.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,368,453 Ream Feb. 15, 1921 2,228,224 Benson Jan. 7, 1941 2,499,692 Spratt Mar. 7, 1950 2,700,802 Agnew Feb. 1, 1955 

